


Afterstory

by Raph16



Category: Deadman Wonderland
Genre: Canon Continuation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Humor, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 02:22:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16466873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raph16/pseuds/Raph16
Summary: One month after the fall of Deadman Wonderland, Shiro finally awakens form her coma and Ganta with do everything to give his beloved the happiness she deeply deserves. But now, alongside new and old friends, Ganta and Shiro will have to face an adversary even more ruthless than Rinichiro Hagire himself: the outside world.





	1. After Hell

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone and welcome to my story. Long story short, I am already writing this fanfiction since february 2016 on Fanfiction.net and I've now decided to include it on Ao3. I love DW, especially the relationship between Ganta and Shiro whom I really wanted to see have their "happy continuation to the song" so, here came this fanfic. It is currently 4 chapters long and hasn't been uploaded in a year, but I PROMISE that it will be before the end of the year. This story can also be found on Fanfiction.net under my account "Raph16". With this, have a good read.

 

1 month. 1 long month has passed since Ganta Igarashi, the falsely proclaimed "butcher of Nagano" and all his deadmen comrades were all at last free for good from Deadman Wonderland. After defeating Rinichiro Hagire, the mad scientist who wanted to free the "Wretched egg" in order to create another "great Tokyo earthquake", and also defeating said egg, everyone started anew with their lives, each following their own new path in society.

They still kept contact with each other though, so Ganta knew what his friends were becoming. Karako became a nurse, which was her job before the earthquake. Hitara-san and Choppline both became teachers and Minatsuki and Yoh, the Takami siblings, pursued their studies. Ganta had heard from Yoh that Minatsuki was studying to become a veterinarian. Makina-san joined the army and for Senji, who had certainly been Ganta's most trusted friend back at DW, he last heard from him that he was climbing up mountains along with another ex-inmate. As for himself, Ganta has restarted school and was back as an ordinary third year middle school student. He even got new friends there. Unfortunately, all of it didn't bring this much joy to Ganta. He could be acquitted from his false crime, he could be free at last from this hell that was Deadman Wonderland, just the thought of Shiro made him feel guilty to the brim and sad as can be.

Shiro, his childhood friend, the girl he loves more than his own life, went through an hell even worst than Ganta had ever been through. Because of his mother and that _bastard_ Hagire- just the thought of this man and what he _dared_ to do to Shiro made Ganta want to go back 1 month ago when he killed him and butcher the absolute _fuck_ out of him -and also himself, Shiro went through so much pain and torture during her childhood that this twisted _thing_ was born within her: the "Wretched egg". And until Ganta was reunited with Shiro ten years later, when he was sent to DW, this fucker was using Shiro as his personal guinea pig, making her fight him when the "Wretched egg" persona was in control and also butcher scientists, only to leave her all alone the rest of the time.

And that's not the worst. The worst is that Shiro was never ment to go through all this: it was Ganta. He had been the one ment to become Hagire and his mother's test subject from the beginning, not Shiro. When Hagire tried to "possess" him back at DW by downloading his memories into him, he had discovered the horrible truth behind the reason for his birth. He also discovered that this witch decided to adopt Shiro when she was a baby so that he wouldn't be the test subject. After Ganta's fight against Shiro- surely the worst thing that he ever had to do -Makina, who happened to have his mother's journal, gave it to Ganta, judging that he should have it. He immediately asked Hitara-san to burn it.

Yes, Ganta had in bonus to fight Shiro in order to put a definitive stop to all this madness. Just imagine yourself, forced to fight the woman you love who wants you to kill her and you can't stop it. As mentioned before, it was the worst experience that he ever had to go through. No, actually the worst was seeing Shiro break down in tears in front of him, all the while screaming that she shouldn't have been born, that she didn't deserve to know happiness.

When he came back to Deadman Wonderland after being acquitted, Ganta, even though he deeply loved her- and still does right now -, he had been willing to kill her in order to avenge his friends who were killed by "her", the "Red man". It all turned to dust once he discovered the horrifying truth and understood- at the last moment -that she didn't really sought death, which caused her heartbreaking break down.

When he looked into her eyes, her beautiful ruby eyes filled with tears, he didn't see a monster, far from that. He saw a scared, broken little girl who was seeing herself as a monster and who wanted and asked nothing more than to be happy, to be a normal 15 year old girl with a normal life. And that, Ganta had been more than willing to give it to her, when he drew his mark on her right palm and told her that as long as she was with him, he will be able to eat all the pudding and face everything in this world. And when he saw Shiro jump and wrap her arms around his waist, Ganta knew that he would give Shiro the happy life that she rightfully deserved. Unfortunately, the explosion that followed the destruction of their crystals- to which they both miraculously survived -caused Shiro to fall in a coma, and Ganta had been devastated when he discovered the state in which his beloved was in. As if fate hadn't been cruel enough with her.

Right now, 1 whole month went by and Shiro was still in a coma, under the care of a nurse named Yukki, in an hospital in Tokyo near the apartment that Ganta was living in. Karako had proposed Ganta to come live with her, but he had categorically refused to leave Shiro alone, even though he appreciated the gesture from the former Scar Chain member. Everyday and after school, he would go to the hospital in order to visit her and tell her what happened during the day, or just hold her hand on which he drew his mark. He didn't care if other people said he looked stupid; he wanted Shiro to know that he was here for her, that she wouldn't be alone anymore. But Ganta wasn't the only one who came to visit her; Senji, Minatsuki and Yoh, Choppline, Hitara-san, Karako, even Masu, they all came to see Shiro at the hospital when they could. It really touched Ganta, it helped him to go through this hardship.

Today, he brought her a box of candies and told her that he had been proposed to join the school's basketball team. Shiro's room was decorated with flowers placed in vases, most of them being from Minatsuki. Ganta was glad that his friends harbored no ill will thowards Shiro, even with all that happened.

Nonetheless, seeing her lying asleep in that hospital bed, and for over a month, was filling Ganta with sadness. He wished that he was the one in a coma, not Shiro. After all she's been through, it's her who deserved to go to school, make friends and do what any other girl of her age does, not him.

Still, Ganta couldn't let himself being submerged by guilt and needed to stay hopeful. Karako had told him: Shiro could wake from her coma at any moment; as long as she breathes, there's always hope. Ganta trusted her, since it was her domain. It was also confirmed by the dialysis machine connected to Shiro that was also measuring her heartbeat. But he couldn't wait. He couldn't wait for the day when he would finally be able to hold his precious Shiro in his arms. But for now, Ganta had to be patient. So, like every time he had to leave Shiro, Ganta planted a kiss on her forehead and told her that he will come back soon. But every time he exited the hospital, he felt like his heart was being crushed a bit.

What Ganta didn't know yet, was that all the pain and wait were going to end today.

**A.N.: At the end of the manga, the machine connected to Shiro looks like a dialysis machine, so I just assumed that it was one. Kind of the same when I wrote that Hagire made "Wretched Egg" kill scientists, which is pretty logic, considering that Hagire pretty much saw Shiro as his own possession.**

 


	2. Alice's awakening

Darkness. For what looked like almost an eternity, that was all Shiro had known; pure and silent darkness. She had been drifting endlessly within it, like a bottle thrown in the ocean by the last survivor of a sunken boat, carrying his message for help, but forever doomed to roam the seas without ever meeting the earth. But then, suddenly, and without a single clue on how it happened, Shiro awoke within the dark void for the first time after only God knows how long.

" _Where... where am I? Why is_ _it_... _so dark? What happened?"_ Shiro asked herself with a small voice, almost like a whisper. She would've liked an answer to her interrogations, but she'll felt _so_ tired, she just wanted to go back to sleep. And she was just about to close her eyes and let herself slip once more into the darkness- maybe for good, this time -when all her last memories painfully came back to her: Deadman Wonderland, "Aceman" making her remember her childhood, her realizing all the horrors that she did, the ferris wheel and her fight against Ganta.

Ganta... At the thought of him, Shiro felt horrible. Her only friend, her only love, he who made all the pain she went through as a child bearable... Why did she make him suffer like that? How could she? She killed all of his friends with this accursed power, put him in prison for a crime he didn't do and turned his life into a living hell. Worst, she even tried to kill him more than once. And not just him, but tons of other people as well who did absolutely nothing to her. And why? Because of _anger_? _Jealousy_? Because she was a _monster_ and monsters act like that? Shiro never wanted this, she never _ever_ asked for this, to be the woodpecker with the poisoned beak. All she wanted was one simple thing: to be happy. That's all she ever asked for, to be happy and to be with Ganta.

But it was impossible and Shiro knew it. She knew that she would never know happiness and never be with Ganta ever again. She had done too many horrible things to deserve all of that. After all, Shiro _was_ a monster. The monster called "Wretched egg" who had caused the "great Tokyo earthquake" that destroyed so many lives and caused so much pain to others, just like the woodpecker from the lullaby. And now, she was "here" in order to pay for all that she did, forever trapped inside the darkness, forever alone for all eternity. Shiro knew that was the truth.

And it was completely devastating her. To be left all alone once more and to never be able to see Ganta ever again was for Shiro a punishment worthy of hell. She just fell to her knees, bitter tears streaming down her face. She didn't want to be left all alone, not again. She didn't want to suffer such a cruel fate, but she couldn't do anything about it. She was going to be forever trapped in this prison all alone and no one was coming to save her, not even Aceman. Yet, even though it was pointless, even if Shiro knew that it wouldn't change a single thing, she managed, through her tears and pain, to pronounce those four words that she hoped from the bottom of her heart would reach the one they were addressed to: " _Ganta, I am sorry."_

* * *

Yukki was an ordinary nurse with nothing exceptional about her. She loved her job and was doing it perfectly. She always loved interacting with people and helping others has always been an important thing for her, so her job as a nurse was the perfect fit. Normally joyful, Yukki was feeling sad at the moment. It was because of the patient that she was now assigned to.

Exactly a month ago, the hospital had received a new patient: a young albino girl named Shiro who was in a coma. Yukki hated seeing people in a coma, she found it so cruel for them. But what was maybe even more cruel was what her new assigned patient had as well as her coma. Yukki's heart nearly stopped when she first saw the girl; the poor thing had absurdly long scars running down her arms and legs. And when she saw the two others that went all the way around her waist, practically cutting the girl in three, it didn't help at all.

But the scary thing was that those scars did not look like those that would stay after a simple wound. Those scars... They looked like the girl had been... had been _cut in pieces_ and then brought back all together by someone with great knowledge about surgery. Worst, upon further examination, it was found that the scars had been present for about ten years. When she asked the boy who was with Shiro how she got those scars, he simply said "child abuse" with a dark grim expression. " _What kind of twisted monster would do such a thing to a child?"_ Yukki thought with horror. She had seen injured children due to child abuse, but NEVER to this extent.

Let's mention said boy that was there when Shiro was brought in and who always came to visit her- along with seven other persons which Yukki assumed were Shiro's friends -. It was Ganta Igarashi, the famous teenager who had been falsely accused of murder and sent to the now abandoned prison Deadman Wonderland, prison which Yukki heard horrible stories about. Stories of inmates fighting each other to the death... using their blood. Just like that day, whenever the boy came to the hospital, his eyes were filled with sadness and guilt. Yukki once tried to make Ganta tell her why he was like that, but the boy refused, saying that it only concerned him. Sometimes, Yukki would hear him cry in Shiro's room when she came to tell him that the visits were over. That's exactly why Yukki hated it when people were in a coma.

Ganta came by again- he actually did so everyday -and he brought a box of candies this time. That was very sweet, but also very sad at the same time, to know that he couldn't share the box with his girlfriend. All because of that damned coma! That was so unfair! Still, Yukki needed to do her job, which consisted on taking care of Shiro until she finally woke up. And much to her surprise, as she was walking towards the albino's room, she heard whimpering coming from the inside.

Yukki immediately rushed to the door and saw Shiro tossing around on her bed, tears streaming down her face that had a look of absolute despair. She was having a nightmare! The nurse instantly got to the bed with the intention of gently shaking the albino in order to wake her from the nightmare, and from her coma in the process. But the moment Yukki made contact with her shoulders, Shiro's eyes opened up and she shut herself upward on the bed with a scream of terror, which sent Yukki falling on her back due to the surprise.

A bit dazed by the event- and the fall -, the nurse got back to all her senses the moment she heard Shiro's fast and heavy breathing. She got up to see the girl she had been assigned to for a month now sitting on the bed, trembling like a leaf with her face stained with sweat and tear marks. The poor thing, she must have had a terrifying nightmare.

"Sweetie, are you alright?" Yukki asked with a concerned voice, trying not to scare her.

Shiro didn't even hear the nurse. Still shaking from head to toe and trying to calm the rapid breathing coming from her strangely dry throat, she looked around frantically to see where she was. Just a moment ago, she was trapped inside the darkness and now she was in a room decorated with flowers, sitting on what seemed to be an hospital bed. An hospital... The idea of being in one brought a sense of dread to Shiro. She then realized that she was no longer wearing her pink and purple bodysuit, but instead a light white blouse that showed her scarred arms past her elbows. Her gaze then fell on the dialysis machine on her left, to which Shiro gave a puzzled look. It instantly turned into a look of fear when she saw that a tube starting from said device... was connected to her arm with a needle!

" _Wh... what is that thing? What did it do to me? What were they doing with me? Am I... Am I back at the medical center? No, I don't want to be back! Please not that! No, no, no, NO, NO!"_ were Shiro's terrified and confused thoughts as her trembling right hand frantically tried to pull the needle out of her arm, only to be stopped by a mysterious hand and a voice that said "Don't touch that.".

Yukki had decided to stay quiet the whole time to let Shiro calm down from her nightmare. But she had to make herself known to the girl when she saw her trying to yank the needle out of her arm. The moment Yukki grabbed her right arm, Shiro froze and slowly looked behind at the shoulder length brown haired nurse with a scared look, still trembling. Yukki immediately softened her slightly stern gaze.

"It's alright, dear. It's only something to keep your blood clean and healthy." Yukki told the trembling girl with a soft smile, all the while softly stroking her right hand in a reassuring manner.

Reassured a little, Shiro tried to reply something, but all she could produce was a hoarse sound quickly followed by coughing. Yukki placed her hands on Shiro's shoulders when the latter had brought her own to her neck.

"Whoa, easy, easy there. Just try to breathe slowly." said the nurse to the young albino who tried to stop coughing. Following her advice, Shiro regained control over her breathing pretty quickly. She then gave the nurse a little smile of gratitude, to which Yukki replied with a smile as well.

"Alright. Wait here, I'll get you a glass of water and something to clean your face." said the nurse as she made her way to the drawers in the room, only to then turn back to Shiro and say: "Oh, I almost forgot my manners. My name is Yukki."

Shiro nodded to show that she understood and also touched her face to realize that it was wet. As Yukki went to pick different things out of the drawers and prepared a glass of water, Shiro was thinking about her current situation. She couldn't be at the medical center. First, there weren't nurses back there and the doctors never treated Shiro this nicely, except maybe Sorae. Then, if she was in an hospital, she could only hope that the people there would be nice to her like Yukki.

At the same moment, Yukki came back with a glass of water that she handed to Shiro who drank it eagerly, the cold liquid soothing her sore throat.

"Thank you." said Shiro, who felt like it's been an eternity since she last spoke.

"You're welcome. And you have a really lovely voice." replied Yukki with a smile. Turning slightly pink at the compliment, Shiro thanked her with a little nod.

Yukki then went to dip a small towel into a bowl filled with warm water to wash Shiro's face. The albino took the opportunity to ask the nurse one of her interrogations.

"Um... Yukki..san?" Shiro asked uncertain and not really used with using the honorifics. It still got the nurse's attention so she pursued.

"How... How did I get here?"

"It was your boyfriend Ganta who called us. He was with you when you were transported." the nurse answered.

Did Shiro hear it right? Her _boyfriend_ Ganta? As in Ganta Igarashi? Ganta had called the hospital so that they could take care of her and even stayed with her when they brought her in? It made Shiro grow a warm smile, but it disappeared when a terrifying memory came back at full force: the darkness. The horrible thoughts of never seeing Ganta ever again, being trapped all alone forever and never knowing happiness took once more a cold hold on her.

Yukki was just done with dipping her towel in the bowl when she heard Shiro's whimpering and sniffling. She looked up and saw the albino holding her trembling figure in her arms, her eyes shut tight pouring with tears and her bottom lip quivering.

"Hey, hey, hey what's wrong?" asked the nurse with concern, putting a hand on the crying girl's shoulder.

"I-I w-was sure th-that I'd n-nev, never s-see h-him ag-again. Th-that I'd b-b, be all al-al, alone for-forev, forever." Shiro answered in between hiccups, crying even more.

Understanding that she spoke about her nightmare, Yukki gently took Shiro into a warm hug, telling her that it had just been a bad dream and that everything was fine. Shiro really appreciated the hug from Yukki, but if she really wanted to be hugged by someone, it would be by a certain raven haired boy who conquered her heart.

"Ganta..." she simply said, still crying.

"You want to see him, don't you? No problem, I can call him whenever you want." the Nurse replied kindly.

Shiro froze for a second when she heard that and then looked at Yukki with teary eyes filled with hope.

"R...really?" she hopefully asked, a smile slowly growing on her face.

"Yes, really. He comes here everyday to see you. He even brought you that box of candies today and he drew something on your hand as well." she said, pointing both the box and Shiro's right palm.

When Shiro saw the drawing, the mark of Ganta on her right palm, it made her remember the events after their fight, events that her pain and sadness had pushed aside. After telling him that all she wanted was to be happy, Ganta had drawn his mark on her hand and said that she was his, no matter if he never forgave her of if she never forgave herself. Just seeing this mark filled Shiro with the biggest happiness ever. This mark alone ment so much for her. It proved that Ganta loved her even after everything and that her deepest wishes would become true.

So, with eyes now sparkling with tears of pure joy, she looked up once more at the nurse and told her: "Please, make him come."


	3. Reunited

_Some minutes later..._

Ganta was sitting on a park's bench, eating a cheese burger. An hour has passed since he left Shiro's side at the hospital. He had gone back to his appartment to change from his school uniform to a grey hoodie with blue jeans. He then decided to go for a walk in order to clear his thoughts for the day. He took a stop during it at a McDonald's to order a cheese burger, just to get something in his stomach.

And there he was now, eating his lunch while looking at the park's lake in front of him. From the corner of his eye, Ganta saw a couple walk beside him, holding hands. The sight made his heart compress a bit. There hasn't been a single day, a single moment during this past month when Ganta didn't think about doing the same with Shiro: to spend all his time with her, to show her how much he loved and cared for her, but more importantly, to see her happy. But thanks to this accursed coma that she was stuck into, he couldn't do any of that.

Ganta placed his burger aside and thought it all over again. It was just unfair, unfair and cruel. Shiro didn't deserve anything that happened to her, not one bit of it. Only freaks of nature like Hagire, Tamaki and Genkaku would deserve such a nightmare of a life, not her.

Hagire, Tamaki and Genkaku... Those names made Ganta feel sick. A sociopathic promoter who used human beings in the worst ways like toys, a twisted guitar playing monk who saw death as the ultimate salvation and a paedophilic mad scientist who considered violence and carnage as love. And not only were those three monsters the perfect definition of insanity, they also shared something in common: each of them tried to either harm or kill Shiro. And two of them dearly paid the price by his hand, the other one being the four-eyed creep who shot himself in the head.

" _At_ _least, those bastards are gone._ " Ganta bitterly thought as he took another bite from his burger, trying to focuse his mind on a more cheerful topic. Well, his previous inner-statement actually brought the desired topic. Indeed, Shiro was in a coma, but she was also no longer prisoner of Deadman Wonderland, she was free from all those who wanted to hurt her. Free from Hagire. Sometimes, even downsides had their own upsides.

Still, knowing that it was him who should have went through what Shiro experienced weighted heavily upon Ganta's shoulders. Of course, his friends, both former Deadmen and those he made at school, were giving him moral support in their own little ways. Ganta was really grateful to them, but it was still hard. He wanted so much to make things better for Shiro, to offer her the normal life that she's been denied for far too long, to ride the ferris wheel with her...

At that moment, Ganta had to put an end to his thoughts because his phone started to ring. After finishing the rest of his cheese burger and cleaning his hands, Ganta wondered who was calling him. Maybe it was his friend Akira who wanted to know if he'd like to come play with him and Hiroki. Or maybe Karako who wanted to know how he was doing. The nurse acted kind of like a big sister to Ganta, making sure he was okay and doing fine at school, which Ganta appreciated.

It was neither of them. The person calling him, as he saw on the screen of his phone, was Yukki-san, the nurse taking care of Shiro.

Ganta was now filled with both worry and excitement. The nurse wouldn't call him unless it was important, she told him herself. This could only mean two things: either something bad happened to Shiro or it was finally the long awaited day. So, after taking a deep breath and praying for the second scenario, Ganta answered the phone.

"Hello, Yukki-san? What is it?" Ganta asked the nurse, still a bit anxious.

Three words. Three simple words that left Ganta in shock for five seconds before he took off like a rocket in the direction of the hospital. The words were: " _Shiro is awake."_

* * *

_Back at the hospital..._

Shiro was lying on her side, on the bed, looking at Ganta's mark on her right palm with a smile on her face. All you could hear was her soft breathing and the humming of the device connected to her left arm, but she paid no mind to it. As she gazed at the symbol, Shiro thought back to what happened after she awoke from her nightmare.

_Around 15 minutes ago..._

"Please, make him come." Shiro demanded with a teary hopeful smile.

"I will, it's a promise." kindly replied the nurse, all the while drying the young girl's eyes with an handkerchief. "But first, let's clean that pretty face of yours, shall we?" she added cheerfully, earning Shiro's second blush of the day. The young albino wasn't used with being complimented like that, it was a bit embarrassing. With a giggle, Yukki took the towel she had been dipping and went to wipe the sweat and tear marks off of Shiro's face.

"Good, all clean now." Yukki declared once she was done. "Now, I'll have to perform some tests on you to make sure..." The nurse froze mid-sentence because Shiro's happy expression had morphed into one of terror and she had backed away from her.

"T-tests?" Shiro shakily asked, remembering the horrid things she went through as a child. Her flesh being ripped off, the drills piercing her arms, the needles, the knives opening her up...

 _"No, not Yukki-san. She can't want to hurt me, she's been so nice to me. She can't..."_ But her thoughts were put to an end when she realized something just as scary about her lower half.

"My legs... I can't move my legs..." Shiro said out-loud with a small, terrified voice. She then started to breathe rapidly and was becoming more frightened by the second.

Seeing her patient about to have a panick attack, Yukki promptly took action.

"Darling, I know you're scared, but it's going to be alright. You're safe with me, I promise." Yukki said in a reassuring, but firm manner. The words got to Shiro as she looked at the nurse with hopeful, but still fearful eyes.

"You... you promise? You promise you won't hurt me? And... you'll take care of my legs?" asked the young albino with a pleading voice.

"I swear. Those tests are just little exams to make sure your body is okay. As for your legs, I'll explain everything once the tests are done, okay?" replied Yukki with a look filled with honesty and when Shiro saw it, all of her lost trust for the nurse was instantly regained.

"Okay." replied Shiro before looking down. "And... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have reacted like that."

"You have nothing to apologize for. Anyone would've been scared in a situation like this." replied Yukki kindly. But the way Shiro reacted when she mentioned tests triggered a red light in the nurse's head.

 _"It may have had something to do with the abuse Ganta said she went through."_ thought the nurse grimly. _"Whoever's the sick coward that abused her, I hope that person paid for it."_ Yukki couldn't be closer from the truth.

"Shiro." the teenager suddenly said softly.

"Hmm?" replied the nurse.

"That's my name: Shiro. Since you told me yours, I thought that I should tell you mine." she explained.

"That's really nice of you, but it's alright, Ganta already told it to me." replied Yukki with a smile. Her answer caught Shiro by surprise, before the young girl grew a smile as well, accompanied by a sudden warmth in her chest. Yukki saw that Shiro was lightly blushing, but decided to say nothing.

After that, and with Shiro's approval, Yukki went to perform her tests. Just like she promised, they turned out to be nothing like what Shiro thought they would be; flashing a light in her eyes, testing her hearing, wrapping a weird thingy around her arm to "verify her blood pressure" as Yukki-san said, etc.

"Alright, you seem to be doing just fine." Yukki concluded once the tests were done. "You did lose a bit of weight, but after some days with good meals, you'll be back in full shape." she then added, which made Shiro touch her face and look at her arms. They seemed a bit thinner than usual.

"Does it... have something to do with my legs not working?" asked Shiro. Something in the back of her head told her it was the case.

"Yes, I'll explain to you, but... it might be a bit of a shock, Shiro." Said girl felt a bit worried at that, but she still invited the nurse to pursue.

"The thing is, you have been in a coma for over a month and I've been the one assigned to take care of you all this time." Yukki revealed with a reassuring tone. Shiro's eyes widened at that and paused for a bit. A whole month... What happened since then? Were Ganta's friends alright? She really hoped so. Then, Shiro recalled something.

"There was... a bright light, with a huge sound like the thunder." Shiro said mostly to herself. "And then... everything went black."

"Yes, Ganta told us that you were both caught in an explosion. Thank Goodness you both made it out alive. But when he saw you in a coma, he brought you to the nearest hospital, here in Tokyo."

The name made Shiro's heart compress painfully. Tokyo. The city she nearly completely destroyed because of her selfishness. And she had the audacity to be hospitalized within it? Shiro tried her best to hide her pain from Yukki-san, but couldn't prevent from frowning sadly.

"It's alright, dear. The great earthquake did take a lot from all of us, but we managed to rise back from it." Yukki said kindly. When she saw Shiro's frown, she thought the reminder of the earthquake was the cause. Her words still managed to make Shiro feel a little bit better when a small smile appeared on her face.

"Good. Now, I'll keep my promise and go call Ganta to come see you." said Yukki with a smile, which made Shiro's face beam with happiness. Still smiling, the nurse pursued: "I'll wait for him at the entry of the hospital after I make the call. It may take a while, so if you ever need something, press that button next to your bed and I'll come, okay?" she added while pointing said button, to which Shiro responded with a nod. With that, Yukki went to exit the room, but Shiro called her before she left.

"Yukki-san?"

"Yes Shiro?" replied the nurse.

"Thank you for taking care of me all this time." She then looked down with a small blush and added: "And... could you keep the door closed, please?"

Feeling like she knew the reason for Shiro's question, Yukki answered: "Don't worry, I'll close it. And you're really welcome dear, it was a pleasure." she concluded before leaving.

_Present time..._

_"Yukki-san is so nice."_ thought Shiro with a smile. Indeed she was. She was kind to her, had taken care of her during her whole coma and showed Shiro that she could trust her. Better, she didn't even say a _thing_ about her scars. Also, unlike the scientists of the medical center who all looked at her with fear and disgust, she had nothing more than honest sympathy in her eyes. Yukki reminded Shiro a bit of Sorae, Ganta's mom, but in better.

Looking at Ganta's mark on her hand, Shiro remembered the sudden warmth in her chest when Yukki-san said that Ganta had told her her name. It never happened before when she thought about him. Was it how it felt to be in love? Not the innocent, childish love Shiro had been accustomed to for so long, but this new, deeper form which she had barely started to scratch the surface of. The one you have for a person you never want to be apart of.

"Ganta, please come quickly." Shiro said as she held her right hand close to her heart, hoping he would soon respond to the nurse's call.

Talking about Yukki, she was currently waiting for Ganta at the front desk of the hospital. It has been five minutes since she called Shiro's boyfriend. When she announced to the boy that Shiro had finally awoke, she was met with five awkward seconds of silence. Then, she swore that she could hear rapid footsteps coming from her phone and it didn't take her long to understand that Ganta was coming, and also didn't shut his phone.

Speaking of the devil, after about one more minute, said boy came running in the hospital, startling some people in the process. He took a halt in the middle of the entrance, sweating and breathing heavily.

"Hello, Ganta. I'm glad you could make it." Yukki told the boy as she walked to his side. It took Ganta 30 good seconds to catch his breath. He had run non-stop to get here and felt like he just ran a marathon. He looked up to Yukki when his breathing regained a normal pace.

"Yukki-san, please tell me it's true." Ganta asked with hope. He prayed the whole time he ran that it was the case. The warm smile the nurse gave him was all he needed. It _was_ true! Shiro was back!

"How is she? Is she alright? Can I see her?" Ganta rapidly asked Yukki. It made the young woman giggle.

"Alright, calm down, young man." Yukki replied with a smile, to which Ganta complied. "I performed some tests and your girlfriend is perfectly fine. She did loose a little bit of weight and she can't walk properly due to the coma, but she'll recover from it without any problem." Yukki concluded reassuringly. Ganta nodded, thanking Heaven for bringing Shiro back to him, but also blushing since Yukki-san called Shiro his girlfriend. Not that it was insulting, of course not!

"So, can I see her now?" Ganta asked with his head pointing down a bit to hide his blush.

"Yes you can, Ganta. She really wants to see you too as well." Yukki replied with her trademark warm smile. Also smiling, Ganta quickly thanked the nurse and went to Shiro's room.

Finally. Finally he could be together with Shiro. All the sadness, all the excruciating wait were finally going to pay off. He walked fast and was soon standing in front of the door to her room. Ganta took a deep breath to calm his beating heart and without any hesitation, he opened the door.

Shiro snapped her head upwards the moment she heard the door open. And the person standing in the doorway nearly made her heart stop: it was Ganta. After everything that happened, after the "Wretched egg", Hagire, their fight and this coma, all those things that could've separated them forever, she could finally be together with him.

"G...Ganta..." Shiro whimpered, tears starting to form in her eyes. Ganta was also starting to cry now, a smile of pure happiness forming on his face. Shiro has open her eyes. At long last, she woke up. And so, he walked up to her and as soon as Shiro was within arms reach, he pulled her into a tight hug, as if his life depended on it.

"Shiro!" he exclaimed, letting his tears fall freely. "You're back! You're really back!"

"Ganta..." Shiro said shakily, her arms wrapped tightly around him. "Please, tell me this isn't a dream."

Ganta looked into her eyes, those beautiful red eyes he missed for so long and reassured her. "No, no it's not a dream. Even I was afraid that it was the case, but it's not. We're really together now."

This was just too much for Shiro. She just let it all go and dove head first into Ganta's chest to cry her heart out. At last, she was reunited with the boy she loved. At last, she could be happy. At last, she was free. Ganta kept holding her closely in his arms, letting his beloved cry in his chest for what seemed like an hour, all the while stroking her snow white hair and rocking her back and forth. There was no word needed at the moment, but Ganta internally vowed to protect Shiro with his life from anyone who would try to harm her.

After a while, Shiro's cries stopped and she looked up into Ganta's grey eyes with a smile, her own sparkling with tears. Also crying a bit, Ganta broke the peaceful silence. What he intended to do at the moment was making his heart beat like crazy, but he was still determined to do it.

"Shiro, do you remember what I told you? That we'd make a super happy continuation to the song?"

"Yes, I do Ganta." Shiro answered as she nodded approvingly.

"Well, we can start right now."

And with that, Ganta cupped Shiro's cheek with his right hand and brought his face close to her's, where he planted a soft kiss on her lips. Shiro let out a little muffled surprised sound at first, but then let herself embrace the wonderful feeling going through every nerve of her body, her eyes closing instinctively. Her heart was beating like a drum and the warmth was back, but this time it felt bigger and warmer. Her right hand ventured in search of Ganta's left one and intertwined her fingers with his when she met it, her left hand holding the front of Ganta's hoodie.

The two young lovers remained like this for a while, embracing the first of many other beautiful moments.


	4. A new start

After a moment, the two reunited lovers unfortunately had to break their first kiss. They simply stood there, both with a smile on their faces and the faint trace of a blush on their cheeks, staring into each other's eyes. No words were needed, only the person.

Right now, Ganta couldn't be more happy. Shiro was awake. _Awake!_ After so long, she was finally back to him. Her magnificent ruby red eyes, her soft smile and her angelic voice, they were all real. At last, he could finally give her the normal life that had been taken from her since the beginning. And they'll be together to experience it.

It was the same for Shiro. As she looked at Ganta, with his soft grey eyes and the trademark lock of hair at the top of his head looking like a candle's flame- she always found it comical -, a warm, comforting happiness was all she could feel.

It was at that moment that her gaze fell on the scar resting on his face. It started from the bottom of his right cheek and went diagonally across it, before stopping around the middle. Instinctively, she brought up her left hand and traced her fingers over it, earning a soft sigh from Ganta. As she did so, Shiro wondered where he got this scar. Ganta didn't have it when...

All the warmth inside Shiro was instantly drained away to be replaced by cold horror as realization hit home. The horrible reality of what she did, which had been cast away by the overwhelming happiness of their reunion, came crashing back down painfully onto her. The hatred, the desire to kill him, all of it... How could she? Just how could she?

Shiro instantly brought her hands back- her right one was still linked to his left land -, as if to prevent Ganta from being infected by whatever plague she carried, leaving said boy confused.

"I... I did this to you..." said Shiro with a voice filled with shame and horror, her hands covering her mouth. It barely took Ganta half a second to understand the cause of her distress.

"Shiro..." Ganta said softly. He knew. For a month, he already knew that _it_ would come up eventually, but with the way things were going, he had hoped that it wouldn't, allowing them to enjoy their reunion to it's fullest. But this hellish past just _couldn't_ leave them be. In an attempt to comfort her, he tried to reach his hand out to her, but she started to talk again before he could.

"I'm so sorry... I never wanted to... It's all my fault... " she whimpered, looking down in shame as tears fell down her face. She sounded so broken Ganta felt his heart shatter. "A... all of your friends were k-killed and... and everyone accused you ev-even though it _wasn't_ you. You got sent to p-prison where you got h-hurt really, _really_ bad and... and almost _died_." She took a quick pause before exclaiming: "All because of me! I... I even tried to..."

Shiro didn't finish, for in the next moment she found herself being held tightly in Ganta's arms, her head resting against his left shoulder.

"G... Ganta?" Shiro asked with a small, shaky voice.

"Shhh... It's okay Shiro, it's over. This nightmare... is all over." responded Ganta with a slight quake in his voice, softly stroking the back of her head.

Shiro couldn't even reply. She would've said something, _anything_ to tell him it _wasn't_ okay, but she simply couldn't. To have Ganta hold her in his arms after what she did to him, combined with her bone crushing guilt, prevented any words from escaping her mouth. It the end, it just became unbearable and with a strangled cry of despair, Shiro once more broke down in tears, this time crying bitter tears of guilt and sorrow.

"I'M SORRY! GANTA, I'M SO SORRY!" Shiro wailed in despair, her body shaking with strong sobs as she held onto Ganta for dear life. The young boy had to show a great deal of self-control to not break down in tears himself. The previous time had been expected and welcomed, not this one. To see Shiro like this, one of the most cheerful person he's ever known in such a state... It was simply torture.

 _"Why? Why did it have to be her? What did she ever do to deserve such a life?"_ Ganta asked himself for maybe the thousandth time, tears now running down his own cheeks. She wasn't a monster, she was just a girl. An innocent little girl who wouldn't even hurt a fly. If he was given right now the chance to go back in time and prevent all this horror from ever happening, he would've taken it on the spot. But all he could do at the moment was hold his precious albino in his arms and whisper soothing words to her as she cried her poor heart out.

The heart-wrenching sound of her cries had the effect of amplifying Ganta's hatred for Hagire and Sorae, which was already enormous, a million times more and hoped that they both burned in the darkest depths of Hell for what they did. But on the flip side, it also had the effect of making his resolve to help and cherish Shiro grow just as much, if not more. It could take a thousand years, he _will_ help Shiro get through this, no matter what. And if anyone wanted to harm her in any chape or form, they'll have to get over his dead body.

 _"It's_ _my turn now. Now, it's my turn to be Aceman._ " Ganta thought resolutely as he took a deep breath to regain his nerves.

After what seemed like an eternity, Shiro's cries finally ceased, replaced by sniffles and shaky breaths. Her head was resting in the crook of his neck and her arms were wrapped tightly around his chest, as if fearing that he would disappear if she let go. They stayed like this for a good minute, allowing her to relax further in his arms.

"You're feeling a bit better now?" Ganta then asked softly, turning his head a bit to look at her as he gently rubbed her back. He felt- more than saw -her nod slightly.

"Good." was his simple reply. _"First thing we'll do when she's out is have her get an haircut."_ Ganta suddenly thought as he looked at Shiro's _way_ too long hair that was spilling off the bed and nearly touching the floor. Went to show the importance that bastard gave about taking care of Shiro's appearance.

"Ganta, promise me." Shiro then said weakly, removing Ganta from his thoughts. The sound of her voice made him frown sadly.

"Anything you want." he still replied.

"Don't leave me alone... Please, don't leave me alone..." begged the young girl in his neck, trembling with fear. The rotten seeds of doubt had started to grow within Shiro's heart. A part of her was starting to think that despite all the kindness Ganta had showed her so far, despite him drawing _his mark_ on her hand, she didn't deserve it. Worst, that behind all of it, deep down, lied a dark hatred aimed at her. After all, Ganta did say: _"Even if I don't forgive you"_. The idea of him hating and abandoning her, to never be able to feel the warmth again, simply terrified Shiro to no end.

Hearing Shiro say these words simply made Ganta want to keep holding her in his arms and never let go. She sounded so terrified, so lost... He needed to do something, he _had_ to do something. And so, without a moment of hesitation, Ganta did the first thing that came to mind; he kissed Shiro on the side of the head.

The sudden contact made Shiro freeze in surprise, before her cheeks grew a red tint. Ganta just... kissed her. Again. How long had it been since she last received one? She couldn't tell. The sensation had almost become foreign to her. The only other person she knew who would give her kisses was Sorae.

 _"But,"_ Shiro then thought, _"when you kiss someone, it's because you care about them, right? Would this mean that... Ganta doesn't hate me?"_ It was a fool's hope surely, but she still held on to it nonetheless.

When Ganta pulled away, Shiro slowly removed her head from his neck to look at him, her hold on him never weakening. What greeted her was the sight of a teary-eyed Ganta with a warm smile on his face. Her heartbeat quickened for some reason when she saw it and then she looked into his eyes. What she saw was a mixture of pain, great determination, kindness and... something else. That same thing that she was just starting to discover.

Love.

For Ganta, what he could see in Shiro's puffy eyes was fear, guilt, doubt, confusion, but also a spark of hope. A spark, yes, but well enough to fuel his will.

"I promise. I promise I will never leave you alone. Ever." Ganta said with a warm smile, wiping away stray tears from Shiro's eyes with his left thumb as he said it. After drying his own eyes, he added: "And I told you, didn't I? That I could face all the absurdities and all the pudding of the world as long as I was with you?"

Shiro produced a small smile at that, his words making her feel a bit warmer inside. Sadly it soon vanished, for it unfortunately had little effect on the guilt that was still very present within the albino's soul. She couldn't help it and looked away from the raven haired boy.

"But... I did so much evil... To you and everyone else." Shiro said with a pain stricken voice. Removing her arms from around his chest to look down at her hands, she added: "Those hands... They've spilled so much blood... I'm a monster." she concluded, a cold shiver running down her spine. "How could you not hate me?" she added in almost a whisper, mostly to herself.

What happened next left Shiro completely stunned. Ganta suddenly took hold of her hands and brought them to his mouth, where he started planting soft kisses on her fingers.

"W-Wha?" was all Shiro could reply. Ganta was... kissing her fingers!? She was completely frozen in place, her eyes opened wide with a great blush on her face, her heartbeat quickening. She could also feel a warm tingling travel from her fingertips to her heart. Once he was done, Ganta looked back at her, his eyes filled with such intensity that Shiro's breath got caught in her throat and she looked away in reflex. She suddenly felt two fingers take hold of her chin and tilt her head upward. This time, Shiro realized something else with Ganta's eyes; they now held a lot of pain and... guilt?

"Shiro." Ganta then said with a determined voice, looking straight into Shiro's red eyes.

"Y-Yes?" Shiro replied tentatively.

"You-are- _not_ a monster. If there's something that you absolutely aren't, it's that. And please, don't believe that I hate you for what happened. None of that was your fault, not one bit of it."

Shiro simply looked at him without saying anything before looking back down, her face flushed red in shame as she realized Ganta had heard what she said. But she was also puzzled by his last sentence. Nothing that happened was her fault? How could that be? Shiro knew the cruel truth; she _was_ the 'Wretched egg'. And yet, Ganta said that it _wasn't_ the case? Why?

Once again, Ganta lifted Shiro's head back up to look at him, but this time he also brought her head forward so that their foreheads were connected. The action made the albino blush once more, but she kept her gaze focused on her lap.

"I'm not mad." Ganta said in a softer tone, moving a stray lock of white hair behind her right ear. "I'm just sad that you would say things like that about yourself. Please, don't say that again, okay?" the boy asked, earning a small nod from the girl inches in front of him. He then added: "And what I just said earlier? About nothing being your fault and me not hating you because of it? I meant it. Every word."

His last sentence made Shiro's eyes look up at him and Ganta could see hope building up in them. Slowly, but surely.

"But... the 'Wretched egg' was _me_. _I_ was that monster." Shiro replied, trembling as she remembered the words _it_ said to her during a nightmare.

_**"I HATE everything. KILL everything.** _ **_RUIN_ ** _**everything."** _

Shiro was brought out of her thoughts when she felt and saw Ganta intertwine his left hand with her right, before giving it a light squeeze of courage. He then gave her a soft, yet serious look before pursuing.

"I told you, this monster was _not_ you. The only thing the 'Wretched egg' had in common with you was your body that it _dared_ to rob whenever it felt like it, nothing else. Do you know what a true monster is, Shiro?" he asked, to which the young girl shook her head negatively. "It's something that has no conscience and is manipulative. Something that shows no mercy, no love and kills simply for the sake of killing and bringing pain to others. And it's eyes hold nothing more than pure insanity, just like those of the 'Wretched egg'."

 _"Though said monster may have had some degree of_ _humanity._ " Ganta added internally, but kept it to himself. "But you, you're nothing like that. You're the complete opposite of a monster. When you told me that... that you didn't deserve to know happiness," he frowned as the memory played back in his mind, before smiling back and pursuing: "I could see it in your eyes. I saw in them that you were completely human."

"What did you see in my eyes?" Shiro then asked, her hope growing more and more. Ganta gave her the warmest smile he could produce before speaking.

"I saw you, Shiro. I saw the girl I love. The cheerful, candy-loving and perfect girl that I fell in love with. The girl with which I want to spend the rest of my life. And also the girl that saved it." The more Ganta said, the more the sides of Shiro's lips were curling the create a beautiful smile, but his last sentence made Shiro pause.

"I... saved your life?" Shiro asked, surprised.

"Yes. If you hadn't kicked through the window of my cell that day," Ganta let out a giggle at the memory before pursuing, "and told me that I didn't really want to die, then I would've died long ago. It's because you showed me the truth that I kept my will to live through Deadman Wonderland, that I could keep my sanity. No, actually, _you_ kept me going through it all." Right now, Shiro had the most magnificent smile Ganta had ever seen.

"I did?" she asked with a voice filled with emotion and feeling tears starting to gather at her eyes.

"Yeah. I didn't realize it back then, but now I know it. It was your very presence that allowed me to keep going through all of it. Your childish side, your love for candies, your cheerfulness... Heck, everything about you was keeping me going. You were my beacon of light in this darkness. My angel inside this Hell."

Shiro was crying at that point, but those tears were tears of pure happiness. To have Ganta tell her, not only that he didn't see her as the 'Wretched egg', but that she had been his very will to live through Deadman Wonderland, was the second most beautiful thing he has ever said to her.

"You really mean it? You really don't think I'm a monster? You really don't hate me?" she asked, feeling like she might burst with happiness. Ganta then took hold of her right hand and turned it so she could see the palm.

"I swear it on this mark. I never hated you and I never will. I love you, Shiro." And it was true. He would never go back on these words. Never.

"Me too. I love you so much, Ganta." And with that, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips on his own in a blissful kiss. Ganta was stunned for a moment before he too wrapped his arms around her chest and bathed into sweet bliss.

They've made it. They've managed to get past one of the biggest obstacles on their way. Ganta knew there would be more along the way, but for now, they didn't need to worry about it.

As they both pulled away, Shiro hid her head inside Ganta's chest, but the boy had the time to see a _colossal_ blush on the girl's face.

"M'sorry..." she mumbled in his hoodie. "...Did it without thinking..."

Letting out a chuckle, Ganta replied: "I liked it." Shiro was glad he couldn't see her face, because she thought that it was now as red as her eyes. Suddenly, a random thought popped in her mind.

"Ganta?"

"Yes?" he replied.

"When I asked Yukki-san how I got here after I woke up from the coma, she said that you called them, but she also called you my... boyfriend. What's that?" Taken aback by the sudden question, Ganta took a moment to think about the best way to explain the 'boyfriend-girlfriend' concept to Shiro. He then looked down at her and spoke.

"Well, 'boyfriend' is how a girl calls the boy she's really in love with when said boy loves her just as much."

"So, that means you're my boyfriend?" asked Shiro with a soft smile.

"Yeah, and that would make you my girlfriend." replied Ganta as he held her closely to his chest.

Shiro's entire being was bathing in a comforting warmth right now. _"Ganta's girlfriend."_ She liked the sound of that.

Sudden knocks on the door brought an end to the peaceful moment, making the two lovers jump.

"Ganta, can we come in?" came Yukki's voice from the other side.

"Yeah, it's okay." he replied as they broke the hug, though he did feel a bit annoyed at being interrupted.

 _"We?"_ wondered Shiro as she dried her eyes. The door opened and the brown haired nurse was the first to enter. Shiro saw that she carried two little wrapping in her hands.

"Well, I see the Sleeping Beauty has finally woken up." said a new voice from outside the room. It's owner walked in and Shiro flinched at the sight.

It was a man that looked around his mid-forties. He had short greyish-black hair and a short beard of the same colour. He wore what seemed to be a lab coat and a pair of glasses. The sight reminded Shiro of _another_ doctor. One who wore a necklace of knives and scissors.

Having taken notice of Shiro's nervousness at the man's presence, Ganta gave her right hand a soft squeeze, along with a reassuring smile. She returned the smile, but was still a bit anxious.

"Let me introduce myself: my name is Eiichiro Kazuma, I am the doctor that was assigned to you. A pleasure to meet you." said the man before performing a slight bow, to which Shiro replied with a simple nod.

"It's alright, Shiro. Kazuma-san is a really nice person, you don't have to be nervous." said Yukki as she too saw how the girl reacted when the man had entered the room. "Here, I thought you both might be hungry, so I bought you sandwiches." she added, handing the two wrappings to Ganta.

Looking at the clipboard he held, doctor Kazuma added: "From the results Yukki-san gave me, you seem to be heading for a good recovery. Aside from the usual weight loss and temporary leg paralysis, you don't seem to be having any serious backlash from your coma. Did anything come up while we weren't here?" he asked her. Not used with being the center of attention, Shiro looked down at her lap before answering nervously.

"N-no... Just a bit tired... I guess."

"Alright." replied the doctor with a nod. Turning his attention to Ganta, he added: "Igarashi-kun, with the way things are going, we might need to keep her here for another four or five days in examination to make sure everything is perfectly fine. After that, she'll be good to go." said the man, to which Ganta replied with a nod and smile. He couldn't wait to show Shiro the outside world and to get her in his school.

"Well, on that note, I'll bid you young people farewell. Have a good day." concluded Kazuma with a bow before exiting the room. Yukki followed after quickly adding with a smile: "You can stay for as long as you want, Ganta. We won't be bothering you again."

Once they were both gone, Ganta turned to Shiro with a bright smile.

"You heard that, Shiro? Just four or five days. After that, you'll be out. You're going to love it outsi-" Ganta froze mid sentence once he saw Shiro's state. Her face held an expression of pure fear and she was trembling like a leaf.

"Shiro, what's wrong?" Ganta asked with worry, resting his hands on Shiro's arms.

"Ganta... what if he comes to look for me?" His eyes widened at the sudden question.

"Who?" asked Ganta, even though he felt he had a good idea about who " _he_ " was.

"Hagire." Shiro replied with a voice filled with pure terror. "He... he said he wouldn't let anyone come near me, that he... that he would... _kill_ anyone who tries to take me away from him." Looking up towards him with eyes filled with terror, she frantically added: "If he finds me, he-he's going to kill everyone! Yu-Yukki-san, Kazuma-san and..."

"Shhhhh... It's okay, calm down. Just calm down." Ganta said soothingly as he took Shiro in his arms and started to rock her back and forth. Once she became less frantic, Ganta held her by the shoulders and spoke in a serious, but reassuring tone.

"Shiro, listen to me, okay? Hagire is _dead_. He's gone and he can never come back. He can't hurt you anymore and he won't be able to do it ever again." Shiro's eyes widened at that.

"D-dead? You're sure? You promise that he's gone?" Shiro literally begged. Ganta just had to hug her.

"I promise." was all he said and it was more than enough. No need to tell her than _he_ was the one who killed Hagire.

"Okay. I just... when I saw Kazuma-san enter, it reminded me of him." feeling a bit ashamed.

"Shiro." Ganta said, making her look at him. "What you... _we_ both went through, I wish I could erase it all, but I know that it's not possible. Still, like I told you, this nightmare is all over and now, nobody will try to hurt or use us like they want. We can make a fresh new start together."

"Yes. Together." repeated Shiro with a smile. She then quirked an eyebrow and asked: "Why did Kazuma-san call me 'Sleeping Beauty'?" Her question had the effect of making Ganta laugh sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.

"Well, on the first days when I came to see you, Yukki-san told me you were really beautiful and I... replied that you were the most beautiful girl ever. And that kind of started the nickname among the nurses." answered Ganta with a blush and looking away. Shiro was also blushing, but also had a warm smile knowing Ganta found her beautiful.

After that, both teens ate their respective sandwiches. Ganta had to hold back a laugh at the look of pure delight on Shiro's face as she ate. It was also sad, considering she used to eat nothing more than candies for the past decade. Speaking of candies, they dug through the box Ganta had brought once their sandwiches were done and spoke about everything and anything for the next hours. Shiro felt a bit sad when he brought up his school, but was soon overjoyed when he promised her that he'd get her to go to school with him once she was out. She was just as happy when he told her that all his friends were alright and surprised when she learned that they all came to visit her every time they could. She understood that most of the flowers in her room came from Minatsuki.

As they talked, the hours past one after another and soon it was 9:00pm, at which point Shiro was getting tired.

"I need to go now, I have school tomorrow." Ganta told her as he put the covers over her. He wished he could stay longer, but school wouldn't give him that luxury.

"Ganta," asked Shiro with a tired yawn, "will you come back tomorrow too?"

"I'll come everyday to visit you. I'll be able to stay longer this weekend." After planting a kiss on her forehead, he added: "Goodnight, Shiro."

"Goodnight, Ganta." replied Shiro before she fell into a peaceful slumber with a smile on her face. Ganta stayed there for a moment, simply looking at her peaceful expression, before reluctantly getting up. Casting one last loving look at Shiro's sleeping form, he left the room and exited the hospital.

As he walked down the street, Ganta took out his cellphone and looked at the date the screen showed.

**_09-27-2024_ **

He would forever remember this date.


	5. The first nightmare

At a certain moment during the night, Shiro found herself awake in bed, her room illuminated only by the ray of moonlight passing through the window on the left wall. It must have been a truly late hour, for no sound could be heard around, safe for the breathing of the young girl trying to regain sleep, or the sound of the machine hooked to her left arm. Lying on her left side, Shiro was currently looking at said machine. During her time spent with Ganta, she had grown more comfortable about the device, at least knowing it wasn't pumping some horrific virus in her body.

With the final thought that Ganta was going to come see her again tomorrow, Shiro was once again going to fall into Morpheus' arms.

Until...

**"Hello, my love. Did you miss me?"**

A sudden, completely unexpected voice came out of the darkness. When it reached her, Shiro's whole body went as stiff as a board, her eyes shooting wide open in pure panic. But it weren't the words themselves that caused such a reaction, nor the rapidly increasing trembling in Shiro's body.

It was the voice.

A voice that only brought her pain and misery. A voice she wished to never hear again. A voice that belonged to someone who simply _could not_ be here. And yet...

The tremors going through the young girl doubled as an even more nightmarish realisation suddenly hit her.

The voice had come from **_behind her_**.

Nearly unable to breathe and hoping beyond hope that it was only her imagination, Shiro finally willed herself to look over her right shoulder.

And what she saw could've made her skin turn even paler than it already was.

Seated in the chair that Ganta occupied hours ago and bathing in the moon's glow was a man wearing a lab coat. His hair, whished was tied behind his head, was of a jet black colour, like the goatee on his chin. He wore half-moon shaped glasses over sunken eyes and, most striking, a necklace composed of scalpels of scissors.

This "man" was Rinichiro Hagire.

A cold, hellish terror was all a now sat upright Shiro could feel. It literally swallowed her whole. The poor child couldn't even scream. Her gaze was frozen on him, unable to look away due to the sheer terror that gripped her being. Her breath was coming out in short, rapid gasps and she was holding the covers of the bed tightly to her chest, as if a shield. All the while, the "man" kept looking at her with a smile, as if absolutely nothing was wrong.

"N-no... no..." was all Shiro managed to say, unconsciously shaking her head from left to right repeatedly.

 **"Aww, you didn't miss me?"** the "man" replied, as if Shiro had answered his previous question. **"I'm hurt. I _really_ missed you, my dear, sweet little Shiro."** Hagire pursued with a silky voice and smile. It only made Shiro want to burst in tears even more.

The man who had performed the nightmarish experiments on her as a child. The same she had unknowingly called "Grandpa" for the past five years. That same man who had, somehow, been impersonating Toto all this time and who Ganta swore was dead, was right here in her hospital room, free to do only the Devil knew what to her.

And then, he stood from his seat and took a step towards Shiro.

"Stay away... STAY AWAY!" Shiro shouted out in pure panic, to which the "doctor" actually stopped to look at her, his smile never leaving his face.

"Y-you're not... you're not real. You _can't_ be real. G-Ganta... Ganta told me that... that you're dead, so you can't-"

Shiro's rant of denial was cut off by the sound of chuckling, a sound that sent a bone chilling shiver down her spine. The chuckling rapidly morphed into a full blown laughter, Hagire's neck arched backwards. But that laugh was not the joyous, contagious type. This was the laugh of a sick, twisted, demented monstrosity that claimed to be human.

The terrified girl had her hands covering her ears once more, her eyes shut tightly as tears were now running down her cheeks. It was that laugh, that same laugh that came from him every time another "grand discovery" was made during the experiments that stole most of her young life. Shiro was pressing her hands over her ears as hard as she could, but it was useless. She could hear his laugh just as clearly.

Finally, the terrible noise died down to nothingness and the two persons inside the room were once more staring at each other. Hagire now held a carnivorous grin coupled with an animalistic look in his eyes, which served to terrify Shiro even more. It looked like he was about to jump on her and bite her throat off.

 **"So, he told you that I was dead, didn't he?"** he asked with a dark chuckle as he moved to stand in front of the bed. Shiro could only nod weakly. **"Well, that's a lie, obviously. Just like everything he told you."**

His last sentence left Shiro stunned for a brief moment before her eyes narrowed angrily. Did he just call Ganta... a liar?! Ganta was _not_ a liar! Building up as much courage as she could to stand up to him, she countered: "N-no, you're the liar! Ganta told me that he loves me, that he doesn't hate me! He drew his mark-" Shiro was cut off by another dark chuckle, but willed herself to not flinch.

 **"Really? Well, why don't you look at your hand to see if it's true?"** the mad man said, doing a hand gesture towards Shiro's own.

Shiro grew worried at that. How did he now the mark was on her hand? And what did he mean by "to see if it's true"? She quickly shook it off; she knew Ganta had drawn his mark on her hand. But still, she looked down at her right hand to obviously see... nothing. It took Shiro's brain a moment to process the fact that her hand was bare of any drawing.

 _"Where is it? Where's Ganta's mark?"_ Shiro thought, starting to panic. She repeated with her left hand, looking at both sides of it, only to gain the same result. She was now _really_ panicking.

 **"It's as I have told you, my dear."** The words made Shiro's gaze spring back to Hagire, the animalistic gleam in his eyes never leaving. **"Ganta _hates_ you. _Despises_ you. Only I can show you love, that's what I always did. After all, how could he possibly love you after you killed all his friends and ruined his life?"**

Shiro's eyes were wide open at his last statement, the previously forgotten fear coming back with full force. It was a lie, it _had_ to be a lie! Ganta told her that he didn't hate her, that she was the reason he was able to go through Deadman Wonderland! That he loved her! Then why was his mark-

No... It couldn't be...

Had everything been a dream? Had Ganta's visit, him placing his mark on her hand and everything that happened today been nothing more than a cruel dream? Was she, at this very moment, still prisoner of Deadman Wonderland?

"N-no... It's not real, it's not... YUKKI-SAN! KAZUMA-SAN! HELP, SOMEBODY HELP!" Shiro suddenly screamed. Maybe it wasn't a dream. If Yukki-san or Kazuma-san heard her and came into the room, then that would mean-

 **"It's too late, Shiro. They're dead."** said Hagire with an uncaring tone. His last words left Shiro feeling her insides turning into pure ice.

"W-what?" Shiro said with a small, quivering voice, her body trembling just as much.

 **"See for yourself."** was his reply, dismissively pointing something behind him on the floor. Still trembling violently, Shiro willed herself to turn her gaze in the direction the mad man had pointed. And promptly let out a scream of horror at what she saw.

Lying on the floor in a pool of blood were two horribly mangled corpses, an expression of pure agony carved on what remained of their faces. They belonged to the nurse Yukki and doctor Eiichiro Kazuma.

 **"I told you I would kill anyone who would try to stand between us."** Hagire said. **"Of course, this is what you were born for, what I helped you become. Everywhere you go, you bring death and chaos. You are the angel of death, Shiro. You are the Wretched Egg."** he concluded in an almost praising tone.

Shiro hadn't paid attention to a single word he said. All of her focus had been on the two bodies lying on the floor. The two adults who had been looking after her during her coma. And now they were dead, all because of her.

"No... NOOOOOOOOOO!" Shiro screamed before diving back on the bed and covering herself with the bed sheets.

_"Why? Why them? I didn't want that, I didn't want them to die! This is... this is a nightmare! I wanna wake up, please let me wake up! Please, please, please, plea-"_

The blankets were suddenly yanked off and Shiro found herself pinned down against the bed. Mere inches above her stood Hagire, a manic Cheshire grin on his face and wide opened eyes bearing a sick gleam.

**"This is no dream. This is reality."**

"NO! GET OFF ME!" screamed Shiro, trying to push the man off her, but for some reason, her arms wouldn't bulge. Looking at them, She found them held at her sides by strong leather straps. Shiro then looked down at herself and what she saw made her eyes go wide. She wasn't lying on a bed at all, but on a table. Leather straps going over her arms, chest and ankles bound her to a steel table, completely immobilising her.

"No... Please not that..." Shiro said in terror, horrific memories rushing back.

 **"And now, we are going to enjoy this reality, together. Forever and ever _and ever_." ** Hagire said, before pulling out a scalpel the size of a butcher knife. He then started to advance towards Shiro, a devilish smirk on his face.

 _"He-he's going to torture me, just like back then! No, no please, not that! Not again! Aceman... Ganta... Ganta, please, save me!"_ Shiro begged in her head as tears streamed down her face once more, but it was in vain. This time, nobody was coming to her rescue. She could only watch helplessly as Hagire made it to her and raised the oversized scalpel above her chest, blade downward.

 **"And now, LET'S BEGIN!"** he screamed, the scalpel plunging down.

Shiro could only scream in pure agony as the horrifying pain exploded in her chest like a raging fire. It was horrible, _horrible!_ It made her feel sick! She wanted it to stop, she wanted it all to go away, but it wouldn't! And she couldn't run away from the never ending pain, her legs and the straps wouldn't let her. She could even feel arms holding her down now!

_"Shiro... Shiro..."_

"NOOOOOO! IT HURTS, IT HUUUURTS! NO MORE, PLEASE, NO MORE! GANTA, SAVE ME! GANTA, PLEASE, SAVE ME!" Shiro screamed in despair, her eyes screwed shut and tears streaming from them. A loud, rapid beeping was now assaulting her ears.

 _"Shiro..._ Shiro! Wake up, sweetie, it's okay. It's just a bad dream. It's me, Yukki."

Hearing the name made Shiro abruptly stop and her eyes snap open. She could make out an humanoid figure above her through her blurry sight. Slowly but surely, her sight became clear and she was finally able to see what it was. It was the nurse Yukki, with a worried expression on her face.

"Yu... Yukki-san?" said Shiro in a small voice.

The nurse smiled warmly. "It's okay Shiro, I'm here now. It was just-" Yukki was cut off when a white cannon ball rammed into her chest, nearly knocking the air out of her lungs. Muffled wails rapidly made themselves known.

"Yukki-san! Yukki-san! Yukki-san!" the crying girl repeated like a mantra. Yukki-san was alive. _Alive_! She didn't how or why and she didn't care. She was way too happy from seeing she was fine.

"There, there. It's okay now." was all Yukki could say, trying to comfort the distressed girl in her arms. She had been passing by the door during her night watch when she heard loud whimpers, quickly followed by a bone chilling scream. She had immediately bolted into the room to see her charge tossing violently on her bed and screaming out Ganta's name for help. It had been quite frightening, to say the least.

After a time, Shiro's cries disolved into sniffles, but she refused to let go of the nurse's uniform. Slightly turning her head to her left, she realized that the loud beeping had come from the machine hooked to her arm.

As she softly rubbed the back of her head, Yukki saw that the teen was soaked to the bone with sweat, even leaving an imprint on the mattress. But that didn't make her lessen her hold on the young girl at all.

 _"Poor thing, that's two nightmares in the same day, and that one seems to have been worst than the first one."_ the nurse thought sadly.

"Yukki, is everything alright?" a female voice suddenly said from the doorway. It belonged to a woman with long red hair dressed as a nurse.

 _"W-who's that?"_ thought a frightened Shiro at the unknown voice.

"Oh, Yui." Yukki said, realizing who it was, before turning her gaze back to the trembling girl who's head was still buried in her chest. "It's alright, Shiro. She's a friend of mine who also works here as a nurse."

"I was just passing by the hallway when I heard screaming and saw you rush inside the room, so I came to see if you needed help." said the newcomer as she made her way to stand next to the bed. She crouched down to be at eye level with the teen who was now looking at her nervously.

"Hello there. You must be Shiro." asked the redhead. The young girl briefly gained a look of surprise before nodding. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"Y... yes." replied the albino softly, earning a compassionate smile from the nurse.

"Yui, could you please go get a clean gown, sheets and bed cover, please? I'm going to stay with her, the poor dear is terrified."

"Yes, of course, Yukki. No problem." replied the second nurse, before giving Shiro another reassuring smile and leaving the room.

Despite the lingering terror of what she just experienced, Shiro was perplexed. They were... concerned about her. All because of a nightmare. It had been a very, very long time since someone had shown genuine concern for her. The only people who did were Sorae and-

"Ganta!" Shiro suddenly exclaimed, rapidly bringing her right arm back from around Yukki to frantically look at her palm.

And there it was; Ganta's mark. Untainted and looking just as pristine as the day it was drawn on her hand.

Words wouldn't give justice to the pure, raw sense of relief that passed through Shiro when she saw it. As she clutched her right hand tightly to her chest with fresh tears in her eyes, any remaining fear that what happened today was a dream evaporated into nothingness.

She was no longer in Deadman Wonderland, she was safe and Ganta would always be with her now.

A few more minutes went by, with Shiro relaxing further into Yukki's hold, before Yui came back from her errand. Her whole focus having been on the nurse's rhythmic heartbeat, Shiro almost jumped out of her skin when she was suddenly picked up from the bed before being sat down on something solid. Looking down, she saw that Yuuki had placed her in the chair that had previously been on the other side of her bed.

Seeing the questioning look Shiro gave her, Yukki rapidly answered:

"It's just to give my co-worker the space to work." This earned her a nod from the albino.

While Yui got started on the bed, Yukki took the opportunity to ask a calmer, but still shaken Shiro a question.

"Shiro, do you want to talk about your nightmare? You're in no obligation to do so, but sharing it with someone can help a bit."

Shiro visibly stiffened at the request and Yukki realized that she had asked the wrong thing. As she ran a hand up and down the girl's back to reassure her, the nurse came to the conclusion that, whatever transpired during the dream, it had something to do with Shiro's past abuse. Like her reaction about being tested.

 _"She seems like such a sweet girl. How could anyone want to hurt someone like that?"_ Yukki thought in a mixture of disbelief and pain.

"N-no. I don't want to…" softly replied the albino after a moment of silence, with fear clear in her voice.

"It's alright, I understand." replied Yukki, which earned a surprised look from Shiro, before giving the nurse a small, thankful smile.

"I'm all done here." suddenly said a voice. The two females turned around to see that Yui had finished changing the bed.

"Oh, thanks, Yui." said Yukki.

"T-thank you, Yui-san." added Shiro.

"You're welcome, you two. Well, I'll head back now. Call me if you need me, Yukki."

After an exchange of "Good night" between the three, the nurse made her exit.

"She was nice, wasn't she?" Yukki asked Shiro. The teen's simple reply was a affirmative nod. If Yukki-san and Yui-san -even Kazuma-san- were nice, then maybe the other people here were nice too.

"Shiro, before you can go back to bed, I will have to wash you." suddenly said Yukki in a tone that sought to avoid Shiro from panicking.

Unfortunately, it had the exact opposite result. Shiro instantly held the gown tighter to her form as realization hit her like a cold bucket of water.

"I don't want… my scars…" pitifully said the abused albino. Shiro hated her scars. They were gross! Ugly! Freaky! Since she was little, she covered them. With the bandages Sorae used and after that, with the "clothes" that… **_he_** gave her. This way, no one could see how freaky and ugly she looked. Especially Ganta.

"Shiro, look at me." she then heard Yukki say with nothing but care. Still holding the gown tightly, Shiro slowly looked up and saw Yukki was now crouched in front of her with a sad smile on her face.

"I can only imagine how you must be feeling right now, but I promise you this. I will never, ever think lowly of you based on how you look. To me, you are a lovely young girl who has gone through something despicable. Nothing more, nothing less."

A flash that could've been hope passed through Shiro's eyes at these words.

"You... you really won't think that I look gross if you see my scars?" As an answer, the nurse took out her handkerchief and gently passed it over Shiro's tear stained eyes and cheeks.

"I promise." said Yukki with a warm smile. which was reflected beautifully upon Shiro's face. "And I'm sure Ganta thinks so too."

Those last words caused Shiro to look down with a bashful smile, as red coloured her cheeks. The warmth also came back as she remembered Ganta's words to her.

"He... he said I was the most beautiful girl ever." shyly said Shiro, earning a giggle from Yukki which served to make the young teen blush further.

"Alright, just let me grab a couple of things first. Are you comfortable with getting undressed, at least?" asked Yukki professionally.

"Yes, I'll be fine now." replied Shiro. Yukki being disgusted by her scars had been the only thing worrying Shiro. They were both girls, after all.

But Yukki had barely reached the middle of the room that she heard a loud gasp coming from behind her.

"What's wrong, Shiro?" worriedly asked Yukki, before she quickly caught sight of what exactly was wrong.

"M-my chest…" stuttered out Shiro with wide eyes.

Shiro had just unhooked the first three buttons of her blouse before she came to a shocking discovery. Just above her breasts was a semi-large, circular burn mark that spread out in multiple directions, similar to a star. It seemed as if someone had thrown a small hand grenade on her.

Shiro tentatively brought a hand to the new scar and had barely touched it before yanking her hand back. The scarred skin felt rough.

 _"I'm uglier now."_ was Shiro's depressive thought as her eyes grew darker and insides turned cold. As much as she loved Ganta's opinion on her appearance, it wasn't enough to change how _she_ felt about it.

"Shiro." Yukki calling out her name drew the teen from her dark thoughts to look back up at the nurse. She reached out to take hold of Shiro's left hand as her eyes conveyed support.

"The scars that we bare, either physically or mentally, they are a symbol of our struggle. They serve to show everything we've gone through and that we kept on going forward." wisely said the nurse.

This statement really got Shiro to pause. A symbol of our struggle? Then, did it mean that her scars- all her scars -were actually… useful? Deciding to keep this new information to talk to Ganta about tomorrow, Shiro nodded in understanding. It was then another realization hit her.

"But if you wash me, Ganta's mark-"

"Don't worry, I've got just the thing." replied Yukki with a smile, before going back to the other end of the room.

After a few minutes, Yukki came back with a bowl filled with warm water, two cloths and a bundle of wrapped-up tape. After placing the first three items on a retractable nightstand on the left side of the bed, Yukki took hold of Shiro right hand and proceeded to cover the drawing on her palm with the tape.

"There. This way, it won't get damaged by the water." This simple action earned the nurse a look of utter gratitude from Shiro.

"Thank you so much, Yukki-san."

"No problem." was Yukki's simple reply.

After that, Yukki finally got to clean up Shiro. With one cloth dipped into the bowl, she started with Shiro's face, before going for her chest and back, and finally her arms and legs. All the while, Shiro observed Yukki to try and spot any hint of distain upon her features, but thankfully saw none. The nurse concluded with drying her young patient with the second cloth and then dressing her up with the fresh new gown.

"All done. Now, off to bed you go." cheerfully said Yukki, but to her surprise Shiro looked… scared.

"You're worried about having another bad dream?" softly asked Yukki, earning a small nod from the girl.

Shiro knew a good stretch of time had passed since then, but… it felt so real. What if she had another nightmare like it?

What if… what if **_he_** came back again?

"Shiro, those nightmares can't hurt you. That's all they are: nightmares." said Yukki, seeing the young albino start to tremble.

"Can... can you stay with me until I go back to sleep? Please?" The near child-like way she asked simply pulled at Yukki's heart strings.

"Of course." said the nurse as she raised Shiro from the chair to place her on the bed and tuck her in.

And stay she did, up until Shiro finally managed the fall asleep once more.

Yukki smiled warmly at the sleeping girl. Barely a full day together and she already felt close to her patient. Some professionals might say that she was breaking her work ethic, but she couldn't help it. This young girl was absolutely endearing.

After a last look, Yukki got up and exited the room.

No other nightmare came to torment Shiro that night.


End file.
